Winter Farmers Market

The official end of the Wisconsin winter might have been last weekend?


While we might still have some cold days here in Milwaukee, this year's "Milwaukee County Winter Farmers' Market" ended on Saturday April 14th 2012. This farmers market runs from Nov 5th - April 14th, every Saturday from 8am-Noon. It's indoors, which is great for snowy days. When I went on April 14th, there was green vegetables, root crops, honey, wine, meat, fish, mushrooms, local coffee, jarred pickles, and some cool dog treats. Out side there was a tent selling seedling plants; peppers, tomatoes (so many varieties...), lettuces, herb, etc..

So what did I buy. Rushing Waters Fisheries located in Kettle Moraine had a deal on two fresh trout, smoke salmon, and salmon burgers that I couldn't pass up. While talking to Springdale Farm I bought some potatoes. My wife loves the pickled mushrooms over at River Valley and I really like their mixed mushroom deal. We just last night ate the incredible tasting lamb chops from Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms, Watch Steph's Snack Shack for the a blog about dish. 


Still not impressed, well visit the links bellow and see what else they had there. Remember just 7 more months before it starts again... that reminds me, I better start working on my vegetable garden before it winters comes back! ;)




Resources:
Official Milwaukee County Winter Farmers' Market


List of Producers at the Winters Farmers Market

More pictures from my visit 

Hops: Planting

Its all about the alphas

You may know that I also make some home brew beer. While I don't like hoppy beers, I do know a deal when I see it. When I heard of hop prices going up again due to shortages, I contacted my local brew shop to but me on their "buy a hop plant" list for 4 different types.


Last week I got my hop rhizomes. I bought: Norther Brewer, Nugget, Brewer's Gold, and (x2) Cascade. With freezing temperatures still looming, each different kind of hops went into a medium pot. I used regular organic potting soil. I got a little daring and planted one of my Cascade in the ground.  

Remember that hops are a though fast growing evasive plant. Think of them like a weed, if left unconfined for years, there roots they will start spreading new plants as far as they can. This is one of the reasons I put most of them in pots. They like lots of water, but well draining soil. If in pots remember to water them daily. If directly planting into the ground, then build a soil up about 4inches (to make a little raised garden bed). Hop plants are also highly resisted to frost damage. A great benefit of those of us starting in cold areas (such as zone 5a). However if planting in the ground remember they will need something to grow on and support 20lb plant vine and will need as much sun as they can get.  


Most people recommend that you lay them horizontally in the ground, when planting, for the best results. And that you space them 3 to 5 feet apart. Cover with mulch, hay, or any other ground cover to help keep the soil from drying out.


In about 2-4 weeks you should see your hop plants growing up through the soil.

News Resources:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5716703/Hop-shortage-hits-brewers
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hop-shortage.380/
http://lautering.com/2011/01/18/craft-brewers-facing-another-hop-shortage-in-2011/



Growing Resources:
http://www.growinghopsyourself.com/
http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/10/growing-hops-in-the-garden-how-to-grow-beer-hops/
http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.3/montell.html
https://www.homebrewing.org/assets/images/PDF/HopsManual.pdf
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/05/homebrewing-how-to-grow-hops-for-beer.html
http://morebeer.com/content/growing-hops
http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Hops-for-Brewing-Beer
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/HopRhizomes.pdf
http://www.picobrewery.com/hopgardn.html

Rain Barrels

a blast from the past...




Last year I wrote an entry about rain barrels. If you are considering adding a rain barrel (and who wouldn't with the benifets it gives to your garden), then give this entry a read. http://gardenrainbarrel.blogspot.com/

Whether you want to collect rain water for your lawn/garden, decided to go green by reducing the strain on your city's storm drains, or just looking for another project; rain barrels might be the right option for you. Searching the web for different rain barrel systems, I found nothing that fit my situation. There are some basics to consider before you build your rain barrels: Amount of water, Filtering, Storage, and Usage.

This topic has grown a life of its own. Please visit my rain barrel blog where I go over this topic and explain why I chose my rain barrel design.

Starting Seeds: Hardening off plants

Time to toughen you up, for the real world.

I have potted up my seedlings. What else can I do before planting them in the garden? My little plants are still fragile. Growing in the protection my house with no wind, no heavy rain, no cold temps, and not baking under the full sun light. To prevent transplant shock and allow these plants to thrive I need to start transitioning them to the real world.

Why harden your plants?
Mainly to prevent the dreaded transplant shock. The effects of transplant shock include slow growth, reduce/prevent fruiting, product bad/rotten fruit, make the plant to susceptible to disease, or kill the plant.

When to harden your plants?
3-14 days before planting directly into soil. This is mainly advised when you have a environment outside then where the seeds are grown. This includes if the seeds where grown inside and it is still cold outside.

How to harden your plants?
Let the plants say out side in some shade/partial sunny area. Eventially you will slowly put the plants into areas of more and more direct sun light. Setting the plants outside to allow the plants to transition to a colder temperature. be cautions of weather under 50 degrees, heavy rains, or high winds. This is to protect seedling's stems from strain and the roots from shock.



Resources :

http://www.growit.umd.edu/SeedStarting/Hardening.cfm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/914/#b

http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/ss/SeedStarting_10.htm

http://richmondfoodcollective.blogspot.com/2012/03/seed-starting-and-hardening-off-for.html

http://chiotsrun.com/2010/05/19/seed-starting-101-hardening-off/

Starting Seeds: Potting Up

Knowing your roots...

It has been about 3 weeks from starting my seeds and they are growing so fast. Even with the warm weather, it is too early in the season of Wisconsin to transplant in the soil with the risk of frost. So what do you do when your baby plants have out grown there seed trays, but the weather is too risky? Pot Up

Why Pot Up?  
The main purpose of to prevent stunted root growth. With out room for the roots to grow they will just circle around in the container and stunt the plants growth when you transplant them into the ground.  This also give the plant more dirt to absorb nutrient. As well as allow you offset any leggy/spindling seeds that have too long of a stem by to set the plant deep into the pot and filling up soil around the stem.

When to Pot Up?
Usually the best time is after you see true leaves and they are about 3-4 inches tall. Those first 2 leaves are just baby seed leaves called 'cotyledon leaves'. It is also a good time when you see roots grow out of the bottom of the tray or pot For most plants it is about 3 weeks. Peppers are known to take longer.


How to Pot Up?
Water the plants the day before potting up, this will help loosen the soil. Choose a pot or container that has proper drainage and is 2 inches or bigger. Get some fresh garden potting soil. The day of potting up, i like to loosen the sides of soil in the seed tray with a butter knife. Put a small layer of soil in the pot/container you will be using. When removing try not to touch or damage the stem or the true leaves, try to pull using the cotyledon leaves and turning the seed tray upside down.  Put the plant in the pot and fill with soil. 


Remember:
You still need to water and provide additional light for your plants. You might even want to start 'hardening off' you plants by setting them out side in the day. They are still baby plants, so don't leave them out if it gets bellow 65F at night or if it is raining (risk of over watering you plants).


References:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/seed/msg031430028669.html
http://www.growit.umd.edu/SeedStarting/Potting%20up.cfm
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/ss/SeedStarting_9.htm
http://houseplants.about.com/od/pottingandrepotting/a/Repotting.htm
http://www.correntewire.com/seed_starting_pt_4_potting_up

Hooray for CSAs

The way of the CSA...

Local Farmer Open House

Saturday March 17th

 (St. Patrick's Day)

11am-4pm

Urban Ecology Center

Riverside Park

1500 E. Park Place

Milwaukee, WI 53211

If you were thinking of joining a CSA or wanted to learn more about Milwaukee's Farmers Markets, then this meet up is a must. While I am going to see if I can find the best CSA deal for the money, this is a great time for you to start learning where good locally grown food comes from. But beware parking is tight so you might have a little walk to get to this event.

What is a CSA?... Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system in which you the consumer receive food directly from the farmers. This is a little diffrent than farmers' market, CSA supporters actually share in part of the farmers' risk. That is, they pay in advance for a portion of the farmer's total crop. Crops that do well will be abundant in the share, crops that do less well will be less abundant.


What else is there going on at this event? Down stairs are a few vendors selling food items. While there may not be fresh veggies (remember it is still winter), last year I came back home with honey, fresh bacon, pickled veggies, and eggs.  There was also nuts, milk, all kinds of meat (although they ran before I could buy any)

There are also some workshops that might up your alley.

1. Intro to CSAs – 11:30 a.m. or 2:45 p.m.
2. Cooking from your CSA box – 12:15 pm or 2 p.m.
3. How Pesticides & Food Choice Affect Our Health & Water Quality – 1 p.m 

Stay tune for more CSA adventures, as I wait for all kinds of delectable dinners from Stephs Snack Shack

Local Farmer Open House
CSA 2012 Farm List.pdf
CSA Comparison.pdf
CSA Reference 

Starting Seeds: Cubes

It's Soil, in 3D...

In one of my previous blogs is mentioned the soil cube. Normally don't buy 'new innovate garden tools' as they are more marketing then quality. After some research, I bought one. I still think it is a great item for starting seeds and will still use it, but maybe not a convenient as soil pellets. Here is what I learned.

The Marketing:

• Save Money! The soil cube system is less expensive.  It serves as both a container and the soil for starting and growing seedlings, eliminating the need for plastic pots and trays for transplanted seedlings
• Seedlings grown in soil cubes form stronger root systems than those grown in containers due to increased oxygen to the roots and the soil cube's natural tendency to"air-prune" roots. This creates a substantial advantage when seedlings are transplanted into the field, because plants establish themselves more quickly and, because of lessened root disruption, they are less prone to transplant shock.

Actual Pros:

• Plants don't have transplant shock
• Plants (after being transplanted) grow faster, have less issue
• No root issues, like root balling.
• less seed starting issues when they sprout
• very cheep to do a lot of seed starting

Actual Cons:

• little more work get soil ready to plant seeds
• little more messy to make cubes
• harder to keep moist (might do better with self water system...)
• if you water too much the cube become a puddle of mud

Summary:
Will I use this again? Yes.
It might be a little more dirtier and little more hime to make the cubes. The plants do so much better in the long term. Tomato plants last year did better then direct sow or seed tray methods. My only real worry is watering the cubes. Too little water and the seeds won't grow. Too much water and the cube falls apart. Then again, it might be good for beginner gardeners to teach how much water seeds need.

Future improvements: self watering would be great.



soil cube

Episode 600 interview with soil cube creator clayton jacobs